From newborns to teenagers, each age has its own joys and challenges. Shona Russell aims to help you with practical guidance and information, based on her experience as a counsellor, a child-care writer and mother-of-three. If you've got an issue you think she can deal with, write to her here at the Evening Chronicle. She'll do her best to share some down-to-earth advice.

Q I'm a bit confused about how often I should visit the baby clinic or see my health visitor.

Some of my friends go every week or every fortnight, and get the baby weighed and the weight recorded in their book. But my health visitor saw me when my daughter was three weeks old, and I was told I didn't need to go back again for any checks until the routine one at eight weeks, when I saw the doctor with her. I haven't been back to the clinic or the doctor since.

My baby is now 16 weeks old, breastfed and seems to be doing fine. But people are surprised when I tell them I am not planning on taking her to the clinic, and when people ask me how much does she weigh, I can't tell them and they think I am peculiar!

Is it important to have these checks done as often as other people think? And what are they looking for exactly? To be honest, getting to the clinic won't be easy, as I have no car and I would need to take a bus which only comes to our part of the village every hour. Getting the pushchair on and off the bus is not a lot of fun, either.

AWe have a habit in the UK of visiting the clinic every week or so, and this is just what we have become used to.

The research shows that for healthy babies, it really isn't necessary to have weight or clinic checks anything like as often as this, but there are other reasons for going often if you want to. Some mothers like the chance to talk things over with the health visitor and find it reassuring to get her opinion on issues like sleeping or crying, when these are clearly not problems you'd see a doctor about. Sometimes, it's good to get out of the house and meet other mothers, as you sit chatting waiting for your turn at the scales. There's no evidence that babies suffer or don't thrive if they are not weighed often - mothers are usually pretty good at spotting if their babies are not developing or growing as they should, anyway.

It doesn't sound as if you need to be concerned about your baby, and you know the health visitor and the clinic are there if you decide you need some advice.

Q I have a five week old baby and am planning a trip to California in the USA in three weeks. I don't know if I should be working towards putting my baby into a feeding and sleep routine on American time, or stick to UK time? Will he get jet lag if I don't try to switch him round in time?

A Oh dear. You could tie yourself in knots trying to get this right. And what happens when it's time to come back to the UK again?

You'd have to start changing again! My advice would be just to respond to your baby's needs as he seems to show them to you now. He is such a small baby and his pattern is likely to change anyway as he grows. People do get jet lag when their body clock gets upset because of losing sleep and having to stay awake for longer than normal. But a small baby sleeps when he wants to and feeds when he needs to - and that's how it should be. I would say that's the easiest way for you both, too - just go with his flow!